Pelt stretching frame



y 12, 1932- w. F. HORSTING 1,366,709

FELT STRETCHING ,FRAME Filed Au 16. 1950 11mm ulllnwm IIHIIIWIIA' INVENTOR.

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Patented July 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM F. HOB-STING, 0F WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO LEATHER EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE IE'ELT sritn'ronme FRAME Application filed August 16, 1930. Serial No. 475,754.

This invention relates to frames for drying and stretching pelts.

One object of the invention is to provide a frame for this purpose, formed entirely from a single piece of sheet metal, thereby simplifying the construction of the frame, reducing its cost of manufacture and Weight, and making it convenient to handle.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide means at the side edges of the body portion of the sheet metal frame to support the pelt pulled over the frame out of contact with the metal body of the frame, whereby the pelt may be toggled to the frame for holding the pelt stretched while drying.

Another object of the invention is to provide the metal body of the frame with a multiplicity of perforations distributed thereover, whereby the toggles employed to connect the pelt with the frame may be engaged with the selected perforations to hold the belt under the tension desired while drying.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a pelt stretching and drying frame constructed in accordance with my invention, with a pelt toggled thereon;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the frame;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line l4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 shows a toggle connecting the pelt to the frame.

In accordance with my invention, the frame shown in the drawing is made from a single piece of sheet metal having a substantially flat body portion 1 extending the full length of the frame. The side edges of the body 1 are bent to provide enlarged rounded beads 52, 2 which extend on opposite sides of the plane of the body 1, as shown in Fig. 2. By this arrangement the beads not only support the pelt 3 out of contact with the body 1, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2,

but space the pelt a distance sufficient from the body to permit the use of toggles 4,4t-for tensioning the pelt on the frame. The beads also reinforce the metal body of the frame whereby the entire frame may be formed from a relatively thin gauge metal to make it light in weight and thus convenient to handle. The frame is made tapered in shape so as to fit within the pelt to be dried, and the beads'follow the taper, as shown. The free margins 5 of the beads are preferably in contact with the body of the frame wherethey meet the same, so as to hold the beads from bending or denting when striking exterior 0bects.

The end of the frame at its narrowestend,

that is, the end which fits within the pelt at the head of the skin, is flanged over asat 5 to. provide rounded edges to avoid cutting the skin when the pelt is drawn over the frame.

tributed over the same inside of the beads,

so that the free or tail end of thepelt when on the frame may be toggled thereto for stretching the same and holding it against undue shrinkage when drying. I V

The form of toggle employed as shown in Fig. '5 comprises a .U-shaped body member having an upper fixed jaw 7 and .a lower movable jaw 8 between which the margin of the pelt 3 is clamped. The .toggle has a thumb piece 9 suitably connected with the movable jaw for moving it into and out of clamping engagement with the pelt. The toggle has a finger loop 10 at its rear end whereby it may be engaged by the'hand of the operator for pulling in a direction to into one of the selected apertures 6 of the plate 1 when toggling the pelt to the frame. A number of toggles are employed to toggle the free or tail end of the pelt to the plate 1, and they are pulled out to stretch the pelt to the eXtent desired when their lugs are engaged in the selected holes in the plate. A number of toggles may be used on each side of the plate and as the holes extend through the plate, only one set of holes are required in the plate for the two sets of toggles. Thus the portions of the pelt on opposite sides of the plate may be toggled to the frame.

The toggles permit the pelt to be stretched and engaged with the frame without perforating or mutilating the portion of the pelt engaged by the toggles, as the toggles do not have any parts which extend through the pelt said beads and body portion being formed of a single sheet of substantially rigid material, the beads projecting substantially an equal distance from the fiat surfaces of the body portion so that a pelt stretched across the frame will be supported in spaced relation from the body portion on either side thereof.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM F. HORSTING.

as is the case when the pelt is tacked to a 7 frame in that type of a device which comprises a wooden board. Consequently, by toggling thepelt to the frame in accordance with my invention the pelt is not mutilated or injured where it is engaged with the toggles, and no portion of the pelt need be cut or trimmed off and be discarded as waste as in the tacking method. Moreover, with the toggles the pelt may be stretched on the frame to a much greater extent than under the old tacking method because the toggles provide means permitting the operator to pull outward on the pelt to a much greater extent than by merely grasping the pelt between the fingers of the hand as required in the old tacking arrangement. The beads in supporting the pelt out of contact with the body of the frame enable it to be stretched by the use of the toggles, and thus keep the pelt under tension during the entire drying operation, thereby improving the grade of the pelt for commercial purposes.

The details of construction shown and described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pelt stretching and drying frame,

comprising a fiat body portion having perforations therein, beads along the sides of said body portion, the body portion and beads consisting of a single integral piece of rigid sheet metal.

2. A pelt stretching and drying frame comprising a body portion provided with a plurality of perforations therein, the edges of said body portion being curved in substantially circular conformation to form beads, whereby a pelt stretched across the frame will be supported by the beads in spaced relation from the perforated body portion.

3. A pelt stretching and drying frame comprising a body portion having a plurality of perforations therein, the edges of said body portion being curved to form beads, 

